You know that scene from the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION trailer where Tom Cruise hangs on for dear life to the side of an airplane as it takes off into the sky? In the trailer, this is the pinnacle of excitement designed to most entice you to see the film. In the film itself, directed by Christopher McQuarrie (JACK REACHER), this is literally the very first scene. It’s a bold move to put it mildly. Where do you go from…

I’m beginning to be concerned about Woody Allen’s moral compass. Well, more so anyway. If one is to read his films as extensions of his multi-faceted personality - and really how could one read them any other way - then one has got to wonder just how much time Allen spends thinking about murdering another human being and getting away with it. This is especially true after watching his latest film, Irrational Man, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone.

Despite being borderline sexist when he sang it, John Mayer had it right when he warned fathers to be good to their daughters. The father / daughter relationship has always been a delicate and highly influential one, and while that dynamic is not explicitly explored in Judd Apatow’s latest film, TRAINWRECK, its impact resonates throughout every minute of it. Not only does this allow Apatow to return to the great character comedy he helped spearhead with hits like THE 40-YEAR-OLD…

What truly made the first MAGIC MIKE a magical experience was not star Channing Tatum’s beautiful body, nor the way that he moved it up and down and all around the stage as Tampa’s favourite stripper, er, male entertainer. No, what elevated that film past its flashy premise was how it perfectly married what everyone wanted to see, the electricity and excitement of the stripping itself, with what no one expected, which was a sharp commentary on class, the economy,…

I have to admit; I was mildly surprised by TED. I expected Seth McFarlane’s attempt at live action comedy would amount to little more than recycled Family Guy jokes. I mean, there were recycled Family Guy bits but Ted also stood on his own two feet as an original character, while MacFarlane gave us a simple, and often quite funny, story about a boy who didn’t want to grow up. And what better way to demonstrate that on screen than…

Seeing INSIDE OUT should easily silence any Pixar naysayer out there. For years, Pixar’s ability to roll out hits was unmatched but there were rumblings that they were losing their edge by relying too heavily on sequels in lieu of the originality that made them the juggernaut they had become. After a two year hiatus, Pixar returns with INSIDE OUT, a film that is perhaps their most original and most ambitious film to date. And for this fan, it is…

One could argue that a reboot of the original JURASSIC PARK franchise is relatively unnecessary. It’s been twenty-two years since the Steven Spielberg classic roared into theatres, tearing up the box office and shattering people’s expectations about what special effects could make look real. People were as wowed by those dinosaurs as if they were actually spectators at the park themselves. It’s been fourteen years though since the franchise ended, badly at that, and let’s be honest, dinosaurs are kinda…

ME AN EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is literally plucky from the moment it opens. Not only are we treated to a harp being plucked away at to usher us into this precious experience, but between the charming animated opening sequence and the prepossessing tone of the narration, it is clear that director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is about to give his audience something that is abundantly imaginative and free. You will be instantly taken in by this unique film and you…

I had already decided before going into ALOHA, the latest film from Cameron Crowe, director of classics like SAY ANYTHING and ALMOST FAMOUS, that I would be writing Crowe off entirely if this film was anywhere near as horrible as his recent work. As I wasn’t reviewing ELIZABETHTOWN, I had the luxury of shutting that insufferable film off half way through. I was not so fortunate with WE BOUGHT A ZOO; I had to sit through that mess and cringed…

For months now, TOMORROWLAND has been shrouded in secrecy. Given the creative team behind the project, including writer Damon Lindelof (PROMETHEUS, Lost) and director Brad Bird (THE INCREDIBLES, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL), coupled with the futuristic setting, I naturally assumed the powers that be just didn’t want word to get out on just how mind blowing the film really is. Having now seen it though, I feel like all the secrecy was just to keep us from finding out how…

Make no mistake, PITCH PERFECT 2 is for people who love to sing, for people who know the joy that can be derived from making music with your mouths. This is clear from literally the onset of the film when vocal exercises are the first thing we hear before we see a thing on screen, followed by voices coming together to harmonize the theme music to the Universal film logo. Before the melody is finished, we cut from the logo…

What. The. Fuck. My apologies for the lack of eloquence but that is more or less the most I could muster after immediately finishing George Miller’s latest Mad Max entry, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. It was as if I had just woken up from the most…